This invention relates generally to the use of an electronic synthesizer for generating polyphonic music, in conjunction with a primary lead instrument such as a guitar; more particularly, it relates to a method and apparatus for controlling such a synthesizer with a foot-operated control, thereby enabling a musician to use one of his or her feet to generate chords with the synthesizer while playing the lead instrument with one or both hands.
Musicians frequently experience occasions when others are not available to provide accompaniment that is desirable or necessary for composing, rehearsing and even performance. Of course, sometimes it is a musician's preference to practice or compose in solitude; but when accompaniment is desired, such may not be practical, convenient or available. For example, backup music may be needed for only short and unpredictable time intervals during a prolonged practice session. Unless they are well-paid for their time, backup musicians may be reluctant to participate in such practice sessions; and even the most talented of musicians find relatively few friends willing to sit through lengthy segments of a practice session in order to provide only a few moments of accompaniment.
It is true that persons who play instruments requiring the use of both hands (e.g., the guitar, banjo, violin or saxophone) can record a desired accompaniment and play it back on demand, assuming that they are skilled in playing more than one instrument. This merger of recorded music and live music with an instrument of choice can sometimes provide the solo musician with at least a partial sense of how the primary instrument will sound when played with live accompaniment. On the other hand, if the lead or background accompaniment is not fixed in final form, a recording will be unsuitable for experimentation, i.e., for playing altered versions of a composition. Moreover, unlike live musicians, tape recorders and the like are not responsive to requests to repeat certain measures or to modify tempo or volume.
Hence, there has been a sustained need for a solution that permits the player of a primary instrument to be accompanied with music that is totally under the control of that same player-especially when the primary instrument requires the use of both hands. This need can now be satisfied with an accessory device providing, among other features, a foot control means for electronic accompaniment. With suitable wiring or hardware connecting the accessory device to an electronic instrument, the musician can personally develop or rehearse a desired chord backup at the same time that the primary instrument is being played. Thus, the player of the lead instrument can have real time control over his or her accompaniment, making it possible to easily repeat segments or create enhancements to a composition.
Of course, foot pedals are well known in the art for providing certain types of music. Percussionists routinely employ foot controls in order to strike drums or cymbals; organs incorporate pedals for bass notes; and the "one-man band" in many variations has included combinations of foot pedals, cables and levers to play multiple instruments and provide an ensemble that could not otherwise be generated with a single pair of hands. Notwithstanding these developments, there has not heretofore been a system comprising an electronic synthesizer and a foot control with which a solo musician can enjoy playing a primary instrument while at the same time selecting chords for simultaneous accompaniment.
Foot pedals have also been employed in advanced designs of electronic instruments such as the one disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,658,690 to Aitken et al., entitled "Electronic Musical Instrument," which describes an instrument utilizing a foot pedal to modify music that is generated by other parts of the instrument, e.g., varying the decay rate or sustaining the duration of certain tones. The Aitken instrument, although versatile, clearly does not meet the needs of the solo musician or composer who simply wants to provide backup music for a primary instrument. The present invention adapts equipment of modest price to enable the amateur to practice and entertain independently of others. More generally, there is now a simple, economical and practical means for a musician to play non-programmed accompaniment with a lead instrument, even though the musician may not be skilled in playing a keyboard instrument.